KHS Montana Comp Build

[Tesseractoid]

First bike build, thanks to all those that have helped me so far!


Call it nostalgia, or hyper focusing, whatever it is, I had to get me some 90s KHS back in my life. Subsequently went on a mission to get one, and within a week or so I had a really nice 1991 KHS Montana Pro delivered. I had the Montana Summit when I was a young lad and dreamed of owning one of these top spec bikes at the time.



Wow, it had been dry stored in a loft or garage for 20 years, even the grips were the same as I remember.. proper time warp stuff!
really pleased with it, doesn't need much, besides riding, it's very close to original, I had to change a rim, fit some XT 735 pedals, smoke & dart combo.. done!




So at the risk of sounding greedy, a month later, to fully scratch the KHS build itch, I decided I need the iconic Montana Team, the crazy pink and blue team colours. Well easier said than done, but I found a Comp frame in the same colours, so I started formulating a plan.



Build the comp with some nice parts, with a potential Team frame upgrade in it’s future.
Browsing the forum sales page, I jumped at a near complete DX group inc wheels to kick start the build.



Here it is after a good scrubbing, all lovely stuff, and the push push brifters just took me right back to being 13 again! ha!

I’ve got a few things to swap over, I figured as my ultimate goal is to build an XTR spec Team bike,
if something isn’t compatible, like the bottom pull DX front mech for example, I can replace it with a top pull M901,
and so on... when a good deal turns up and funds allow, I'll work my way though the groupset, or not, we'll see..

Lots of bits on route, so will keep the progress report rolling!
Cheers all
Joel

 

[Magpiegifts]

Great looking frames.

Signing in to catch the progress...

 

[Once A Hero]

Always good to see a KHS getting some appreciation

 

[Jimmyann]

Nice looking bikes

 

[Tesseractoid]

Cheers all!

Ok so onto the frame.

Arrived wonderfully packed, first impressions, good colours, I was worried the pink might be faded but it looked pretty good, infact I was suprised at how lary it is, it really glows but my phone camera can't handle it!

Being picky, the frame itself was a bit grubby, crusty, not so keen on the red beat up bottle holder!,. oxidisation in the bracket shell, dirt in the hard to reach areas, a couple of scuffed up decals, but I could see past that, and it's not bent! given that it’s 30 years old I wasn't complaining, quite pleased really!







It also came with the seat post, KHS stem and the Zoom 170g handlebars, with some Bontrager grips.





The stem is a mess, I think moisture has got under the paint, it's like there's rust eating from the inside out. The exact same thing on the Pro bike too, though this one is way worse. I could paint it but I think there's going to be noticable pitting in the metal.



First move, strip off the bottle holder, cable guides, skewers, bolts etc.. and clean it up.

Let’s see what we are really dealing with!






After a good clean and some very minimal assembly, it's bike shaped!

 

[Once A Hero]

That’s cleaning up nicely
What do the Bontrager grips look like? I can’t remember what the original grips looked like and the brochure gives no clues, so it would be interesting to see yours if you think they are original?

 

[Tesseractoid]

Took the frame indoors after a further polishing and used camera that can handle colours properly!



Check out that blue/pink contrast!

Spinner fork and DX hub


Decals cleaned up nice



frame protector barely had a mark on it! maybe the previous owner had a sharkfin or something covering it.

Paint mostly great, a few chips but actually quite amazed how well it cleaned up.

 

[Tesseractoid]

That’s cleaning up nicely
What do the Bontrager grips look like? I can’t remember what the original grips looked like and the brochure gives no clues, so it would be interesting to see yours if you think they are original?

Of course! have them right here,
can't be sure if they are original, but they look worn enough to be!








Not at all what I remember from my KHS ownership first time round, circa 92!

 

[Once A Hero]

I’d say there’s a strong chance they are the originals! I’ve got a few sets like that in my spares draw.

 

[Tesseractoid]

I’d say there’s a strong chance they are the originals! I’ve got a few sets like that in my spares draw.

ooh.. a khs spares draw, what else you got in there!?